This invention relates to a process of, and apparatus for moulding confectionery, particularly but not exclusively to soft confectionery items, that is, confectionery items which are relatively soft at room temperature and therefore difficult to handle mechanically at room temperature. Such items include fondant creams, toffees, gums and jellies based on starch, gelatine, pectin, agar-agar or gum arabic or soft fondant creams, and caramels/fudges, and which can be in the form of an individual sweet/sweet centre or in the form of a larger bar or confectionery on a stick.
Such soft confectionery items were traditionally moulded in starch moulds on moguls and then the starch was removed and recycled to produce further moulds.
There are various problems associated with the starch mogul process. For example, the possibility of an explosion of starch released into the atmosphere, but the process does have the advantage that frequent changes in product type and shape can be accommodated.
In order to avoid the disadvantages of the starch mogul process, we developed a successful process in which air is used in the demoulding of such soft confectionery items, the air being admitted to the individual mould cavities through a series of fine holes provided in the base of the mould cavity. Patent Specification No. GB 1050699 describes such a process. It is, however, relatively expensive to drill a series of fine holes in a large number of moulds, and one attempt to overcome that difficulty is disclosed in Patent Specification No. GB 2078155A.
The present invention is based upon our realisation that it might be possible to solidify at least the exterior of a soft confectionery item, so as to enable the item to be subjected to a mechanical force to demould the item, yet without the item suffering any significant damage during demoulding.
We are aware that it is known, for example from specification EP 0582327A2, in the preparation of frozen confectionery (that is confectionery that is normally consumed whilst in a frozen state, such as ice lollies) to fill a mould with an aqueous liquid mixture and, in order to freeze the liquid, to subject the mould to a low temperature environment of below 50.degree. C.
Our invention, on the other hand, is concerned with a process which is carried out on a soft confectionery material, that is a confectionery material which at room temperatures is soft as compared with a frozen confectionery material which is, of course, in a liquid state when said confectionery material is at room temperature.